As you plan this year’s fundraiser, you may automatically go back to the strategies you’ve employed in previous years. While getting the word out about your fundraising efforts via traditional methods is still a good idea, the way people communicate has changed in recent years. More than ever, people are communicating with neighbors, family members, and friends through sites like Facebook and Twitter.
But there’s an art to social media marketing. In order to be as effective as possible, your organization should pay attention to some of the very techniques top marketers use. Those strategies can be put to use as you work to get the word out about this year’s wreath sales.
1. Encourage Shares
Your organization’s social media presences likely have limited audiences, especially if they’re relatively new. Instead of merely posting news about your fundraiser on your own page, encourage all of your followers to share the news with their own followers. Some organizations have even found contests and giveaways are a great way to encourage shares, with each share or retweet earning an entry into a free giveaway.
The best place to start your publicity is internally. For example, if you are a boy scout troop, have each member of your troop post an announcement on their own social media sites and encourage shares from their own followers. This will give your boy scout wreath fundraiser a reach that you could never find on your own.
2. Go Visual
Social media users’ newsfeeds are filled with updates. To stand out, your organization has to do something different. Images are a great way to draw someone to your message, especially if the image is colorful and eye-catching. The more unique your image is, the more likely it is to be effective.
Try not to roll out your entire catalog in a series of posts. Instead, choose a few of your most unique wreaths and post those, one at a time. Space them out to allow them to catch different users at different times of the day, week, or month, and encourage your colleagues and supporters to share the photos on their own social media pages.
3. Make It Easy
When you go door to door to talk to people about your wreath sales, you can sign people up and collect payment. Even if you don’t collect payment prior to ordering, you’ll have a plan to drop off the wreath and collect payment at that time. Making sales online isn’t quite as straightforward, since you may even be collecting commitments from total strangers.
Instead of accepting commitments online, direct online contributors to a specific event or location. If they can come by your local headquarters or complete a form that a friend or family member has, it would be ideal. You could also consider collecting the payment electronically if that option isn’t prohibited.
Social media is a great way to spread the word about your fundraiser and maximize your chances of success. By finding ways to stand out online, you can reach as many community members as possible and make this year’s fundraiser the most fruitful one ever.
4. Targeting Younger Generations
Adults may spend most of their time on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but if you’re looking for younger generations, you won’t find them there. In fact, millennials and Generation Z-ers spend most of their time on sites like Snapchat and Instagram.
These statistics are important for nonprofits and fundraising groups who are targeting those demographics. Fundraising groups need to reach youth where they spend most of their time, which tends to be on image-based sites that they can call their own. They already know that their demographic skews younger, but they aren’t yet sure how to best connect with them online. Here are a few tips for using the Internet’s most popular social media platforms to reach younger generations.
5. Use Existing Resources
One of the biggest advantages nonprofits and fundraising groups have is a large base of volunteers who are passionate about the work their organization is doing. Find ways to encourage younger volunteers to share news about what they’re doing across their own social networks. They likely already want to snap photos and share them, but consider creating shareable moments by setting up a selfie station at your next event or bringing in a character or props for them to pose with.
6. Use Stories
The nature of Snapchat makes it difficult to directly market to members, since the site is set up for members to share only with other members. However, through Snapchat Stories, brands can promote a message and win young consumers. Nonprofits can use the feature to tell the unique stories of the many people they help with the work they do. They can also use the site to share photos from a particular event, possibly convincing other young people to sign up to volunteer or donate.
7. Host a Contest
Unless you regularly add new followers to your Instagram and Snapchat accounts, you may find you’re communicating to a group of people who already know about your brand. The goal then becomes to reach out to new customers. One great way to do this is to encourage your existing customers to share with their own online followers. Host a contest based on your volunteers and donors sharing their own unique stories through Instagram and Snapchat.
8. Analyze and Adjust
If you aren’t monitoring your social media activities, you’re already missing a great opportunity. If your organization has a website, make sure that it is set up to capture information on referrers and note when a new visitor comes from Instagram or Snapchat. You can do this by installing Google Analytics on your website. Be sure and ask donors and volunteers how they heard about your program. This information can be vital to learning what works and what doesn’t so that you can better direct your future marketing efforts.
Both Snapchat and Instagram are great tools to connect with younger customers. For nonprofits and fundraising groups, they can provide a pathway to get the word out about the items you’re selling, the volunteer positions you have available, and the donations you need to meet your goals. By working with your own younger volunteers to get the word out through these platforms, your nonprofit will have an edge over the competition and help you make this the best fundraising season you’ve had so far.
